This is a special episode of CareCast, Care Net’s podcast about family, faith and life with your hosts Roland Warren, President and CEO of Care Net, and Vincent DiCaro, Chief Outreach Officer of Care Net.
In a culture that continues to say that men have no say in abortion, Care Net engages and trains men to change our culture from death to Pro Abundant Life. Hear what Roland and Vince have for us on the latest episode of CareCast.
Want to hear the podcast? Click here to access the latest CareCast episode.
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Called and Missionary Men
Roland and Vincent, fresh off the plane from Dallas, Texas, where Care Net held its second pro-life Men’s Summit at Dr. Tony Evans’ Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship Church. The event hosted many amazing speakers, breakout sessions led by members of the Care Net team, and practical training to turn pro-life passion into action.
We are blessed to have so many men participate in this great event. We had the pleasure of having former NFL quarterback Jeff Kemp as a speaker. Roland spoke with Dr. Evans. We have Care Net staff from our team to cover the Making Living Disciples resources, Abortion Recovery Care resources, and attendees also learned how to better connect with pregnancy centers. More than 400 people attended. Care Net is grateful to see men ready and willing to serve the Pro Abundant Life movement.
The Why: God’s Design for the Family Relates to Men
Why is Care Net devoting time and resources to hosting the Men’s Summit? Well, because we are a pro-life organization and we make an intentional effort to make sure we include men in the conversation. Care Net cares about involving men in pregnancy decisions because God does.
Roland said, “If you look at the birth of Christ, you will see that God sent an Angel to Mary. And He also sent an angel to Joseph—to call and commission Joseph—that’s why we call our conference Called and Missioned. God called Joseph to be Mary’s husband and father to the child growing inside her. He has a mission.”
God’s design for the family is a father and mother—united in marriage—who love each other, love their child, and love God. That’s the big idea. So the first pillar of the Pro Abundant Life vision is that God is pro-family.
Roland and Vince discuss the podcast in more detail—Care Net’s work with the Called and Missioned Men’s Summit and the other fatherhood work we do that encourages fathers to be actively involved in pregnancy decision-making. “You don’t make God’s design for a family without a man…”, said Roland.
The What: Research Says Father Is the Most Influential Pregnancy Decision
Sadly, too many pro-life organizations neglect to engage men in the conversation. It seems like many pro-life organizations are acting like the pro-choice movement—by simply saying, “Pregnancy is only a women’s issue. Men should stay away from it.” Of course, our national surveys on the issue of life tell a different story. We know, because we asked post-abortive women and men, who is the most influential person in your decision…
- Medical professional?
- Your mother?
- Your father?
- friend?
Both post-abortive men and women say that the man involved in the pregnancy is the most influential person in the decision to abort or deliver the child.
Many of our affiliated pregnancy centers showed up for the Called and Missioned Men’s Summit. With over 1,200 affiliated pregnancy centers nationwide, many of you have sent men on staff…or volunteers, board members, church partners…you have sent them to this summit to learn if how can they be more involved in this issue.
The How To: 3 Next Steps for Engaging Men in Pro Abundant Life
You can turn your pro-life passion into action. Here are the three next steps:
#1 Contact your local pregnancy center.
Create a fatherhood program or help with other help your local pregnancy center may need.
#2 Start a Making Life Disciples Program in your church.
This is a program that we use to engage and equip the church on how to do pro-life ministry within the church. Maybe you don’t have time to serve at your local pregnancy center, but Making Living Disciples is a way to bring pro-life ministry to your church. Visit makinglifedisciples.com to learn more.
#3 Experience healing and bring healing others.
Whether you’re a post-abortive man and you’ve experienced healing—and you want to bring that healing to others—or you’ve never experienced healing and want to experience it, reach out and serve others who are dealing with this issue. Our Abortion Recovery and Care program (ARC) is a way to engage with the issue of life.
We have also launched a new book called Reclaiming Fatherhood. This is a study that men can use to gain healing and to bring healing to others recovering from fatherhood.
We are excited about our Men’s Summit and how God continues to use it to inspire and engage men at Pro Abundant Life. We thank everyone who attended and for those who may learn about it from this podcast and post for the first time. Contact us if you have any questions or need additional help and resources in joining the Pro Abundant Life movement.
Want to hear the podcast? Click here to access the latest CareCast episode.
Not on SoundCloud? Listen to iTunes o Spotify.
More Resources
You can find more Pro Abundant Life resources at the following links:
